Martial Arts.Monarchy.Meaning.Mercy / Turn the Other Cheek. (Title)
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[__01_] Section-by-Section Introduction:
1st "Martial Arts"
2nd. "Monarchy of King David"
3rd. "Meaning of Turn-the-other-cheek"
4th . Mercy
Many years ago, I lived in Japan - when I was 1st out of college, and I worked to teach English as a second language.
I learned a few things about Japanese
language and culture, while living in Osaka, about 3 hours from Tokyo.
Also, myself being very much a child of the
70’s and ‘80’s I was aware of the popularity of karate which reached a fever pitch
with the release of movie The Karate Kid in 1984. Following its success, kids
flocked to dojos across the United States hoping to learn the storied martial
art.
Perhaps, I should have flocked to a dojo near
me in Japan!
Thanks to this early adoption of Karate in
Hollywood, Karate is still top-of-mind for many people today.
And I'm interested in the karate, at least as
an observer about what a martial arts practitioner can do with only his or her
arms and hands and balance and agility. In fact, the word karate, translated
from the Japanese = “empty hand”. I'm no expert in karate, but it would have
been a great opportunity to learn karate, in the country of its origin. Because
karate shows someone in kind of a lowly humble position, seeking not only a way
of defense but also of self-discipline.
[__02_] Who is the lowly, humble person in a humble position, also a traveler, and having a crisis, in the reading from 1st Samuel?
It is David, who has already been
anointed to be the next king of Israel.
Why
is he so concerned about his position and safety? Maybe David needs a karate
class or at least better bodyguards. He's going to be the next king of Israel
in Jerusalem.
David is lowly and afflicted because he has
been in danger for his life from the current King of Israel.
In his very first battle, David had taken up
the challenge and had defeated Goliath. [David as the underdog competitor
entered into a hand to hand combat with Goliath.
This wasn’t a karate match, but it was a 1-on-1 combat.]
If you had bet money on David against Goliath
on DraftKings or FanDuel you would have won big money!
Since then, David has gone form “lowly
against-all-odds” underdog to the beloved “favorite”. More and more people are betting on and counting
on David and the current King – Saul – is out to get David.
[__03_] So here we are in chapter 26. David has
managed to find Saul to discover him asleep, totally vulnerable. This is
David's opportunity, not just for self defense and self discipline, but for revenge,
The Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger would have been proud.
David takes no revenge, instead giving us an
example of loving his enemy.
[__04_] How
many times have you and I read and been challenged by Jesus’s words in the
Gospel today – “Love your enemy, do good to those who hate you, bless those who
curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
And Jesus summarizes all of this with
oft-quoted phrase “Turn the other cheek.”
Why is this commandment turn the other cheek
even a thing?
You might say the turn the other cheek should
apply only to those who are LOWLY – who need love -- or those who are completely MISERABLE who
need MERCY.
Are you lowly? Are you miserable?
[LOWLY / LOVE] You experience – we all do – at times being
low on the “totem pole” or being “last” or being forgotten.
In
the letter to the Romans, St. Paul wrote:
“Bless
your persecutors, and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep
with those who weep. Have the same attitude toward all. Put away ambitious
thoughts and associate with those who are lowly.” (Romans 12:14-16a)
In some cases, even when we try to assist the
lowly, we may be rejected. On a very cold day I once cooked some hot oatmeal
cereal for a homeless person I encountered and was told that the oatmeal was too soggy. I was not pleased to be told
this. It’s not easy to turn the other
cheek.
[MISERY
/ MERCY EXAMPLE]
Isn’t it true that sometime we are
“miserable” and therefore conclude we should not receive– or someone else
should not receive – mercy?
St. Francis de Sales wrote – “the greater our
misery, the more is the mercy of God glorified.” Consider a moment when you
were forgiven. What a relief ..and in this, you are not glorified. God is
glorified.
St. Francis DeSales writes that confession
and penance the Sacrament of Confession and penance, renders a person
infinitely more honorable than sin renders him culpable.
Jesus says: “there's more joy in heaven over
one sinner who repents the 99 righteous people in no need of repentance.”
Mercy is what we can do with our own empty
hands with nothing material.
[__05_] “Turn the other cheek” [DOES NOT MEAN]
·
1st Jesus is speaking to his
grown-up adult disciples – he is not speaking to children; he is not speaking
to vulnerable persons who might have been enslaved or subordinated.
·
Jesus is asking those who might be lesser in
physical strength or endurance to submit automatically to those stronger. Given
that his listeners – at the moment – are all men – he is not commanding this
“turn of the other cheek” in the relationships of women to men, or children to
adults.
·
He is neither permitting nor promoting any
form of bullying.
·
He is not telling us to invite harm from
others ourselves. Or to expose our entire person or body to harm. So, there is
a limitation.
[DOES
MEAN] It means that
the disciples and that's you and that's me should not be too surprised when our
generosity or our forgiveness or our integrity is not applauded or respected.
It is relevant whenever we experience rejection or dislike or desire for
popularity. When people don't like us, we all fall into that trap of wanting
everybody to like us.
It's also a good idea to turn the other
cheek, because it's a form of respect for God for our neighbors for others.
Now, what does what reason does David give for turning the other cheek in this
situation?
[__06_] What reason does David give for not taking
the action-hero solution to taking the life of King Saul?
Is it because David wants to be
“liked” ? In fact, we could say it is
the opposite. David is more popular than Saul and some people around David also
want to see David replace Saul.
David says this to his fellow soldier
who wants to assault and attack Saul, “Do not harm
him [do not DESTROY Saul] for who can lay hands on the Lord’s anointed and
remain unpunished?” (1
Samuel 26:9)
So, David is saying … despite the fact
that Saul is my adversary, and does not like who I am and is trying to harm me…
I am not going to take revenge on him. In other words, David is leaving the
“payback” part in God’s hands rather than taking the payback into his own.
Who is the Lord’ anointed … well, Saul
is the king and was the Lord’s anointed.
The Lord’s anointed refers not only to Saul, it also refers to David, remember that Jesus is born a king in
the line of David.
So, David is not going to harm the
Lord’s anointed because he does not want to begin his own rule and monarchy
this way.
This is a good step because David
himself will have his life threatened later by those in his inner circle. In a
similar way, Jesus is betrayed and forsaken by this own disciples.
We do not actually have to go to
another country to learn how to protect ourselves in this way.
What will protect us and gain us true
shelter is God’s mercy and our willingness to forgive those who trespass
against us.
On the other hand, turn the other
cheek also means that we may experience rejection or disdain when we try to do
the right thing and are not appreciated for either what we do, when we do it or
how we do it. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote from the
Birmingham Jail – “I have never yet engaged in movement that was "well
timed" according to the timetable of those who have not suffered”. (Letter from a Birmingham Jail).
David has also suffered and there is
certainly an argument that he could end his suffering by seizing the moment and
taking Saul’s life.
David chooses a non-violent means for
the sake of his kingdom and country and his kin, his family.
David’s
actions predict Jesus’ kingdom and church where the lowly are loved and
miserable receive mercy.
You are also the Lord’s anointed able to be his agent of
mercy and the Church is our country - our environment and family - where we
learn that mercy and forgiveness – are our calling, to assist others, who are also
the Lord’s beloved and anointed.
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